NFL Confidential: Normally dour Andy Reid showed humbled by support after son's death

Sat, Aug 11, 2012 @ 11:07 pm

Tony Dungy and Andy Reid have totally different personalities.

Dungy is outgoing and personable and was beloved both in Tampa and Indianapolis where he coached. Reid is gruff and taciturn and has never won over the Philadelphia fans despite his success.

Now they have one thing in common they wish they didn’t.

They both have suffered the worst tragedy a father can endure — the death of a son.

Dungy’s son, James, committed suicide at age 18 in 2005. He was probably a victim of the illness of depression.

Reid’s son, Garrett, was found dead last Sunday at the Eagles training camp at age 29, a victim of a long battle with drugs that he finally lost.

Reid returned to work Wednesday, less than 24 hours after he buried his son. And coached the Eagles against the Pittsburgh Steelers Thursday night.

“I’m a football coach,” he said. “It’s what I do.’’

Dungy left coaching after the 2008 season although his son’s death probably wasn’t related to that decision. Dungy had too many other things he wanted to do in his life.

The one thing Reid does in his life is coach football. But he was a changed man when he returned to camp. He addressed 90 players and staff members and spoke to them for a minute. About 30 reporters watched from 100 yards away and were told not to videotape the moment.

He then spoke to reporters for 18 minutes and showed a side of himself that he never has in the past.

“I’m a humbled man standing before you. A very humbled man. I’m humbled because of the outpouring. … I’m not so sure you ever think that many people care. I’m sure my son would feel the same way. I can’t put it any more frank than that. He loved the Philadelphia Eagles,’’ he said.

“I know that coming back and coaching was the right thing to do. I know my son wouldn’t have wanted it any other way,’’ he said.

He then started giving reporters an outline of which players would play Thursday night.

As chronicled by the Philadelphia Daily News, he spent the next 14 minutes talking about his son’s death with no football questions.

He declined to say how he knew Garrett’s death was drug related.

He thanked reporters for their compassion, the fans and the team for their gushing support. There were close to a thousand mourners at the Mormon temple where his service was held.

“It’s a sad situation. It’s one my son has been battling for a number of years. My family has been battllng,’’ he said.

He said fighting drug addiction was like “fighting a grizzly bear.’’

His two eldest children, Garrett and Britt, both dealt with drug addiction and both were jailed, Garrett twice. Britt is now coaching at Temple and Garrett was working in the strength department with the Eagles.

“I praise my heavenly father for the support and the strength that he’s given me to be able to work through this,’’ he said.

He said his wife didn’t resent him returning so quickly to the team.

“She figured I would be going. She encouraged that. As long as I was OK with it, she encouraged it,’’ he said.Of his reaction, Reid said, “You’ve got to get it out. You’re going to cry a little bit. You’re going to laugh a little bit. You’re going to cry some more. You’re going to laugh some more. This is life. This is life.’’ The players dedicated the season to Garrett and will wear GR decals on their helmets although Reid said he wouldn’t ask for that.

“That’s not how I operate. I hope that it would be a rallying cry for those people that had the same struggles that they overcome and make them stronger, and families that hurt,’’ he said.

There was a moment of silence before the Thursday night game and there was a message of thanks on the scoreboard from Reid and his wife, Tammy.

The Eagles rallied to win, 24-23, after their regulars trailed 13-0. Nobody will remember that in an emotional night.

Son liked being dealer

Garrett Reid has said in past interviews that he didn’t use drugs until he graduated from high school at age 18.

He started with marijuana and alcohol, followed by prescription painkillers and then cocaine and heroin.

He told a judge in 2007 in front of his parents, “I don’t want to die doing drugs. I don’t want to be that kid who was the son of the head coach of the Eagles, who was spoiled and on drugs and ODs and just faded into oblivion.’’ He said he stopped selling drugs.

He also told a probation officer in a report read by the judge, “I liked being the rich kid in that [tough] area and having my own high-status life. I could go anywhere in the ’hood. They all knew who I was. I enjoyed it. I liked being a drug dealer.’’

More family trouble

The Eagles are dealing with another family situation — the divorce of Jeffrey Lurie and his wife, Christina, that was announced on July 4.

There was speculation the divorce could force a sale of the team, but according to the NFL Network, Lurie retained control of the voting shares in the settlement of their divorce and she will have only a small non-voting share of the team.

In an email, a senior official said that Lurie is only 60 and will retain control of the team for decades and that it will remain in the Lurie family for generations.

Hard to replace refs

The NFL showed during the 1987 strike that it was easy to find replacement players.

It is finding out that finding replacement officials, especially since the Division I schools won’t let their officials be replacements, isn’t as easy.

The officials who worked the Jaguars-Giants game Friday night seemed out of their element at times.

They had to stop one play just before the snap to pick up a flag they left on the field on the previous play.

And they seemed confused at the end of the game when Giants quarterback Ryan Perrilloux threw an illegal 15-yard pass because he crossed the line of scrimmage before he threw.

They correctly called it a penalty but then moved it to the previous line of scrimmage without marching off any penalty yards.

After having some conferences and apparently talking to the replay official, they finally marched off a 5-yard penalty. There were only two seconds left so it didn’t make much difference, but the replacement didn’t seem to be up to the task. The league has to decide whether to make a deal with the regular officials or risk having similar things happen in the regular season.

The NFL has sent a memo to the coaches telling not to knock the replacements so New England coach Bill Belichick did it in his usual passive-aggressive way.

“I think Mike Pereira has made his comments on the officials. I don’t know who knows more about NFL officiating than Mike Pereira, so we will leave it to him,’’ he said.

Pereira, the former head of the officials, has been critical of the replacements.

Brain to be donated

The mother of O.J. Murdoch, the Tennessee Titans wide receiver who committed suicide last month, has decided to donate his brain to researchers to see if he suffered from CTE or chronic traumatic encephalopathy.

His 2011 season was ended when he suffered an Achilles injury after signing with the Titans as an undrafted free agent. And he never played in an NFL game.

If he did have CTE, it could be a sign that college and/or high school injuries can cause it.

Quotable

“I have changed in a lot of ways. I have to earn my spot on the team just like everybody else. I understand that.’’ Wide receiver Terrell Owens saying he is a different person after signing with the Seattle Seahawks.

This story contains information from interviews, other beat writers, websites and news service reports.